Brock’s 2023 NFL Power Rankings – Week 12
1. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (8-1)
Jason won this edition of the “Kelce Bowl” in a thrilling Monday Night Football matchup against his younger brother Travis and the Chiefs. Of course, Travis won the meeting that mattered back in February. However, Jason and the Eagles look primed to make another Super Bowl appearance in hopes of bringing another championship to Philly.
2. KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (7-3)
Despite looking like the better team for the majority of the game, the Chiefs fell to Philadelphia at home on Monday night. The Chiefs had some very badly timed mistakes, turning the ball over in the red zone twice. The turnovers along with some dropped passes aided the Eagles’ efforts in dropping the Chiefs to 7-3.
3. SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (7-3)
Brock Purdy had his way through the air against the Buccaneers defense on Sunday, evident by his perfect passer rating of 158.3. Purdy became the first 49ers QB to finish a game with a perfect passer rating. Brandon Aiyuk helped accomplish this feat, notably by hauling in a 76-yard touchdown reception, as the Niners rolled to a 27-14 win over Tampa.
4. BALTIMORE RAVENS (8-3)
The Ravens rolled through the Bengals on Thursday Night Football. They are only 1 game up on the Browns for the division lead, but with Cleveland’s QB situation it would appear that the Ravens have a pretty clear path to being crowned the kings of the AFC North.
5. MIAMI DOLPHINS (7-3)
Jalen Ramsey’s return has been paying dividends for the Dolphins. Ramsey had two more interceptions this week, including one in the end zone to seal the game for the Dolphins as the Raiders were trying to tie or take the lead in the final minute.
6. DETROIT LIONS (8-2)
The Lions fell behind by 12 at home to the Bears. That’s not something that elite teams do. But they were able to navigate a comeback, and put 17 points on the board in the final 4 minutes. That is something elite teams do, right?
7. DALLAS COWBOYS (7-3)
This Cowboys defense is something else. They had yet another defensive score on Sunday when DaRon Bland picked off Bryce Young and took it to the house for a 30-yard pick 6. This play helped Dallas pull away late to win big against the Panthers.
8. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (7-3)
The Jags bounced back from their embarrassing loss to San Francisco by dishing out some embarrassment of their own. They trounced Tennessee, 34-14. Trevor Lawrence had an excellent game. He threw 2 TD passes and ran 2 more in himself. This was a big win for the Jags, as it keeps them a game up on Houston in the division.
9. BUFFALO BILLS (6-5)
The Bills got their revenge against Zach Wilson & the Jets. After falling to Wilson & company in Week 1, the Bills cut through them with ease this time around, possibly ending Wilson’s tenure as the Jets starter, as the QB was benched during this game, which resulted in a 32-6 Bills win.
10. CINCINNATI BENGALS (5-5)
Talk about a disastrous turn of events for the Bengals. A few weeks ago they looked nearly unbeatable. Fast forward to today and they have now lost 2 straight, including a 14-point loss to Baltimore. But the truly disastrous event for the Bengals was the loss of Joe Burrow, who exited the game against the Ravens after being unable to throw the ball on the sideline. Burrow will be out for the season, leaving the team in the hands of Jake Browning. This is still a solid group, but without Burrow, the odds that the Bengals achieve their goal this season is tenuous at best.
11. CLEVELAND BROWNS (7-3)
The Browns moved to 7-3 after edging out Pittsburgh in Cleveland with Dorian Thompson-Robinson at the helm. This was a big win, as it keeps them in the hunt for the AFC North title. However, I’m not sure how realistic that goal will be with the rookie DTR under center and the Ravens playing excellent football. On the flipside, if you look at the AFC playoff picture and the Browns’ remaining schedule, a wild card spot isn’t unthinkable… if the defense can continue shutting down the opposition.
12. HOUSTON TEXANS (6-4)
Stroud had 3 interceptions this week. When you hear that a rookie QB had 3 interceptions in a game, it’s usually safe to assume that he, and his team, struggled mightily and were handed a loss on a silver platter. That wasn’t the case here, however. Along with his 3 interceptions, Stroud had a couple of TD tosses and broke the 300 yard mark through the air once again, throwing for 336 yards on 27 completions. He is continuing to put the pre-draft cognitive tests to shame.
13. SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (6-4)
Surprisingly, the Seahawks fell victim to the Rams for the 2nd time this season. Seattle held a 9-point lead in the 4th quarter, but were unable to protect it, as the Rams used a Darrell Henderson Jr TD run, and a Lucas Havrisik field goal to sneak out with a 1-point win.
14. DENVER BRONCOS (5-5)
Is Russ cooking again? Wilson found Courtland Sutton for the go-ahead, game-winning TD with a little over a minute remaining in regulation to beat the Vikings 21-20. Things have really turned around in Denver. This win got the Broncos to .500 and also put them near the playoff conversation. A month ago I doubt I would have thought this would be possible.
15. MINNESOTA VIKINGS (6-5)
Dobbs didn’t look horrible in his 3rd start for the Vikings, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough, as the Vikings were edged out by 1 point against Denver. For Minnesota, this was a tough loss. The Broncos came into this game hot, but what really stung for Minnesota was blowing an 8-point 4th quarter lead.
16. PITTSBURGH STEELERS (6-4)
What’s it say about the Steelers’ season that they were 6-3, and entered their game against Cleveland as the underdog despite Dorian Thompson-Robinson being the Browns’ starter? The Steelers lost the game by a field goal in the waning seconds. Kenny Pickett may have hit a new low, throwing for only 106 yards, while the Steelers manufactured on 10 points – 7 of which came on a 74-yard TD run from RB Jaylen Warren.
17. LOS ANGELES CHARGERS (4-6)
As much as I would like to enter another diatribe against Brandon Staley after the Chargers’ embarrassing loss to Green Bay, I can’t lay this loss at his feet. The Chargers’ offensive weapons had plenty of miscues that piled up and snowballed into a loss. Austin Ekeler fumbled points away inside the 5-yard-line early in the 4th. There were multiple dropped passes by Chargers receivers in this game, including a key drop by rookie WR Quentin Johnson on a pass that would have put the Chargers in range to tie the game with a field goal. It’s been a challenging year for Johnson, as he hasn’t lived up to the hype. When Mike Williams went down with an injury it created an opportunity for Johnson to step up and become a difference-maker. He has yet to do so. The Chargers now fall to 4-6, and the postseason is disappearing like a mirage.
18. LAS VEGAS RAIDERS (5-6)
The Raiders gave the Dolphins a battle. They limited Miami’s explosive offense to only 20 points, and had an opportunity to tie or take the lead in the final minute. Unfortunately, an O’Connell pass fell prey to Jalen Ramsey for the 2nd time in the game, sealing the Raiders’ fate.
19. NEW YORK JETS (4-6)
It’s possible that Jets head coach Robert Saleh has seen enough of Zach Wilson. The BYU product was benched in favor of Tim Boyle during the Jets 26-point loss to Buffalo. At the time of my writing this (4:45am on Monday morning), it’s unclear if we will see Wilson or Boyle under center this week.
20. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (5-5)
The Saints used this past Sunday to prepare for the Falcons. They will travel to Atlanta to face their divisional rival in a game where the winner will be atop the NFC South
21. LOS ANGELES RAMS (4-6)
I’m sure the Rams were relieved to get Matthew Stafford back. Stafford didn’t have a good game, but he is a key piece of this team and his absence is certainly felt. He only threw for 190 yards, but he was able to engineer two Rams drives in the 4th quarter to score the final 10 points of the game, erasing a 9-point deficit to protect their home field and come out with a win.
22. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (5-5)
The Colts had a timely bye this past Sunday. They will come out of their week off and face the Buccaneers in a game that the Colts will need to win to keep what slim chance they have to win the AFC South alive.
23. ATLANTA FALCONS (4-6)
The Falcons were off this past week and will look to get back into the win column on Sunday against the Saints, who also had a bye this past week. Neither team is above .500, but this will be a game with major implications in the NFC South standings. With both teams rested and prepared, it should be an interesting matchup between two mediocre teams.
24. TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (4-6)
The Bucs couldn’t get anything going on the ground against San Francisco. Baker Mayfield had some moderate success through the air, but the lack of a ground game really allowed the Niners defense to zone in on the passing game, especially after the Bucs found themselves in a passing game script, down by a couple of scores. The Bucs fell to 4-6 on Sunday.
25. GREEN BAY PACKERS (4-6)
The Packers took the Chargers mistakes and said “thank you” on Sunday. This was a promising win for Green Bay. The Pack racked up nearly 400 yards of offense on their way to a 3-point win.
26. WASHINGTON COMMANDERS (4-7)
This very well may end up being the final nail in Ron Rivera’s coffin. The Commanders went out and lost by double-digits at home on Sunday against the New York Giants, who were led by… Tommy DeVito. Talk about embarrassing.
27. TENNESSEE TITANS (3-7)
The Titans have been so bad on the road this year that it started out as funny. Then it just became embarrassing. Now it’s both embarrassing AND funny again. Not in a “haha’ way, obviously, but more like a sad clown. The Jags rolled through this team, 34-14.
28. NEW YORK GIANTS (3-8)
Moments like these are about all Giants fans really have to look forward to right now. The season is a lost cause, but there’s nothing wrong with feeling good about handing your division rival a home loss against your 3rd string QB. Enjoy the bragging rights while you have them, Giants fans. Hell, you might even get another win next week against New England. Live it up.
29. CHICAGO BEARS (3-8)
The Bears held a 12-point lead with less than 4 minutes remaining… and proceeded to fall to 3-8. Which was a very “Bears-like” way to lose. I’m sure the fact that the loss came to a divisional foe stung that much more.
30. ARIZONA CARDINALS (2-9)
The Cardinals had a good opportunity to put together a nice little 2-game win streak for themselves, but were unable to do so, despite picking off rookie QB CJ Stroud 3 times. They had multiple opportunities to come out with a win. Two of their interceptions came in the 4th quarter. However, the Cardinals would end up turning the ball over on downs 3 times in the 4th quarter. All 3 of those turnover on down’s happened on Houston’s side of the field as well. That must be a tough pill to swallow for Kyler Murray & company.
31. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (2-8)
The Pats were off on Sunday. Hopefully they used the time to get things right, because lately they have been all kinds of wrong.
32. CAROLINA PANTHERS (1-9)
No surprise here – the Panthers got rolled by Dallas. You didn’t have to be a psychic to see that coming.
